The History of Film

A New Translation of a Master Filmmaker: Dr. Anne McKnight on Long Take

An interview with Japanese media scholar Anne McNight about her new book Long Take. Long Take is a collection of interviews and other material by or about Akira Kurosawa,

37- Abel Gance, and the Prelude to the Post-War

An episode about Gance, covering his life and movies from birth to just before of the release of his monumental film J'accuse. Support the show

36- Women's Pictures, Staring Women, that Women Were Watching

An episode all about proper (or not explicitly patriotic) melodrama as it was developing in France during the war. Who were these movies made for? What were they about? W

35- French Patriotic Melodrama

This episode is a little smaller in scope than usual. But like one my great podcasting heroes, my ambition for this show is to tell the history of film without any gaps.

34- American Invasion, Sessue Hayakawa, and "The Cheat"

In this episode we cover just how, exactly, American cinema came to dominate Europe in the wake of WW1. We take a look at the economic practices that facilitated the "inv

33- War on Film, Film at War

This week we cover the effect of The War on the French film Industry. While The Conflict's Titanic needs did a real number on French production, it did also help dev

32- Foundation of Death, Foundation of Light

This episode reexamines some topics we have already looked at, but this time as context for one of history's greatest butcheries, rather than as pure film history. T

Announcement – Plans and Reasons

The History of Film Podcast has been on Haitus since May of 2022. This announcement officially ends that. Let's get back to it! If you have any ideas on how I can i

31- Gertie: The First Animated Character

In this episode we finish up our series on early animation by covering Gertie the Dinosaur and The Sinking of the Lusitania, both animated by Winsor McCay. Next time it&a

30- Animation Before the Dinosaur

This is the first of two episodes (only two, I promise) about the great animator Winsor McCay. We cover his life before he became a filmmaker, and his two first movies: L

29- Phantasmagoria

It's a new year, and the History of Film is back! In this episode, we cover the life and achievements of French animator Emile Cohl, as he creates the first paper fi

28- Drawings That Can Dance

The long promised day is finally here! We dive into the world of animation, examine ancient Iranian pottery, and meet animators named Charles-Emile Reynaud and James Stew

27- The Fall of Babylon, The Fall of Griffith

In this episode we take a look at Griffith's second most famous movie, Intolerance, and examine its production, structure, and impact. We also (finally) finish the l

26- The Birth of a Nation: Part III

This is the last of it. In this episode, we dig into how and why The Birth of a Nation was so influential, and who was influenced by it. I am happy to say that next week

25- The Birth of a Nation: Part II

When I write these, I never know just how long they will be. As it turns out, talking about a film that has had a huge impact on the development of film history, and made

24- The Birth of a Nation: Part I

Well, where it is. The Birth of a Nation is an extremely important movie. It would be hard to overstate it. In this episode, we cover the original novel the film was base

Bonus: Film as Cultural Artifacts

This is the first of (hopefully) a recurring series of episodes on film critical theory. Today, with special guest Melissa Favara, we cover the idea of cultural productio

23- D. W. Griffith

Here it is! Its an episode and a subject that has been a long time coming, and it's one that is less important then people used to think, though perhaps a little mor

22- Italian Futurism and Everything Else

Hello and welcome back! This is everything about early Italian films that we didn’t cover in the last two episodes. That means we talk a little about how Italian studios

Announcement: Updates on "The History of Film" Going Forward

A few words on exciting changes that are coming to "The History of film in very  near future. historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com historyoffilmpodcast.com Support the show